A summery tomato tart

I never was a huge fan of quiche, but give me a good, savory tart and I'm in heaven. I'm currently swamped (happily) with tomatoes from the CSA, so I tried this recipe, curtesy of the very cool ezrapoundcake.com.

Some notes on the preparation: I did pre-bake the crust to ensure that it wasn't soggy or chewy. Here's how to do it:

• If you are using a pie dish, lightly oil the dish
• Spread dough out and cover with parchment paper or foil
• Weigh down the crust -- so it doesn't rise -- with dry beans or an oven-safe pot
• Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes. Remove weight and parchment paper and bake for another 10 minutes

The other thing I did to prevent a soggy crust was to blot the cut tomatoes on a paper towel to remove the excess water.

Lastly, I sauteed about 1/4 of an onion and topped the mozzarella with the mixture; it added a nice, earthy flavor to the tart.

This was easy and quite tasty. The dough was flavorful and buttery and the tomatoes were sweet and juicy, which is exactly how you want your tomatoes to be. This is a perfect summer dish!

Fresh Tomato Tart with Basil-Garlic Crust
Adapted from Jack Bishop’s “The Complete Italian Vegetarian Cookbook”
Serves 4 to 6
                  1 RECIPE BASIL-GARLIC TART DOUGH (RECIPE FOLLOWS)
                  8 OUNCES SLICED MOZZARELLA
                  2 LARGE, RIPE TOMATOES (ABOUT 1 POUND), CORED AND CUT CROSSWISE INTO THIN SLICES
                  SALT AND FRESHLY GROUND PEPPER
                  1 TABLESPOON EXTRA-VIRGIN OLIVE OIL

• Prepare the dough, and press it into a 10-inch tart pan with a removable bottom.
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line the bottom of the tart shell with mozzarella. Arrange the tomatoes over the cheese in a ring around the edge of the tart and a second ring in the center. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Drizzle with olive oil.
• Bake until the crust is golden brown and the cheese has started to brown in spots, 35 to 40 minutes. Cool on a rack for at least 5 minutes before slicing. (The tart may be covered and kept at room temperature for 6 hours.)

Basil-Garlic Tart Dough
                  1/3 CUP FRESH BASIL LEAVES
                  1 MEDIUM GARLIC CLOVE
                  1 1/4 CUPS UNBLEACHED ALL-PURPOSE FLOUR
                  1/2 TEASPOON KOSHER SALT
                  8 TABLESPOONS (1 STICK) UNSALTED BUTTER, CHILLED AND CUT INTO 8 TO 10 PIECES
                  4-5 TABLESPOONS ICE WATER

• Place the basil and garlic in the work bowl of a food processor. Process, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed, until finely chopped. Add flour and salt; pulse to combine.
• Add butter. Pulse about 10 times, or until the mixture resembles pea-sized crumbs.
• Add water, 1 tablespoon at a time, pulsing several times after each addition. After 4 tablespoons water have been added, process the dough for several seconds to see if the mixture forms a ball. If not, add remaining water. Process until dough forms into a ball. Remove dough from processor.
• Flatten the dough into a 5-inch disk. Wrap it in plastic, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. (The dough can be placed in a zipper-lock plastic bag and refrigerated for several days or frozen for 1 month. If frozen, defrost the dough in the refrigerator.)

• Allow the dough to come to a bit cooler than room temperature. Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface into a 12-inch circle. Lay the dough over the tart pan, and press it into the pan. Trim the dough, and proceed with the recipe as directed.